Grey Eyes
by Storytelling Penguin
Summary: A tale of an unlikely friendship that grew into something more. Kit Rook and Ty Blackthorn. This story is also written in Russian. /readfic/5598862 Thanks to ONLY4TRANSLATING
1. A New Distraction

Ty crept silently up the stairs towards his bedroom. It was 3:42am. Strangely, Julian hadn't come to the computer room that evening to make sure that he had gone to bed. Something had been bothering him these past few days, he wasn't the same. It may have gone unnoticed to everyone else but very little got past Ty. He had an eye for detail and he could tell a lot about someone by just looking at them. Hours of reading Sherlock Holmes had improved that skill. Whatever it was, he just hoped that Julian would phase out of it soon.

Ty's room was located at the east wing of the Institute… well, it wasn't exactly just a room. It was more like an entire corridor. Up until the age of twelve, he had shared a room with Livvy. Ty had expected her to be distraught when he told her that he wanted to have his own room, but surprisingly she had been thinking the exact same thing. She was growing up too, privacy was just as important to her as it was to him. But unlike Livvy, Ty had chosen a room that was pretty isolated from everyone else. Julian and Emma had rooms on the same corridor near the west wing of the Institute. Dru slept on the same corridor as Tavvy, and Livvy had gone to join them. So when Ty chose to pick a room at the other end of the Institute it didn't really go down well with Jules.

It took him weeks to convince Julian that he liked it over there. It was quiet and he was away from the ocean. The noise of the crashing waves had disturbed Ty's sleep since he was a toddler. Eventually Jules agreed to let him stay, seeing as his room was really only a five-minute walk away and they had to go that direction to get to the weapons room anyway.

Ty had made use of all his new space. Mountains of books were piled against the walls of his corridor. His room contained all his favourites. His Sherlock Holmes novels had their own shelf. Pictures of perfectly drawn insects and other animals decorated the walls of his room, each of them very accurate, down to the last detail. He loved animals. Always had, always will. His ability to draw them in such incredible detail was skill that he himself was very grateful to have. That's what he had been planning to do now… draw, that is. He had gotten new pictures of deep sea creatures off of one of the computers.

Usually, Ty didn't stay up late. Shadowhunters had to train every day, and just like mundanes they needed plenty of sleep to train as vigorously as they did. But on a night like tonight, where the storm outside was so loud it felt like the thunder could knock the Institute walls down, Ty just put on his headphones and let his pencil and paper distract him from the loud noises that were too much.

Once he reached his corridor, a thousand little things told him that something was off. It was like someone had drawn an extra line on one of his drawings. It was little, yet so obvious that it was changed. Ty whipped out his stele and quickly drew a rune that allowed him to see in the dark.

"Someone was here", he muttered. Barely loud enough to hear himself. There was a tiny speck of blood on the ground near a pile of his books. When he walked over he quickly noticed that one of the books was gone. There was a thin pile of dust over all the books that were at the top of the pile except one. Making it stick out like a sore thumb. Ty had pulled his headphones down from his ears, forcing himself to ignore the sound of the roaring thunder that made the ocean wreak havoc onto the rocks. In the almost newfound silence he could hear a new sound. A peaceful one. The sound of someone breathing.

It didn't take long for him to find the source of the sound. It was so calm in contrast to all the other noises around him. It was coming from the only door on the corridor that was closed except for his one. Ty walked slowly towards it. His footsteps cutting through the thunder. Was someone leaning against the door? In an act of curiosity, he leaned his head down and pressed his ear against the hard wood… and then the breathing stopped.

The door flung open, flinging Ty to the side with it. Before he had a chance to react, a body was on him, pinning him to the floor, with a blade pressed against the delicate skin on his throat. He gasped out in shock but was cut off halfway when the blade was pressed down harder, close to blocking off his airways. Staring down at him were an all too familiar set of pale blue eyes. Eyes that Ty knew, belonged to Kit Rook.

They were captivating. Just like a witchlight, they shone through the dark lighting up the rest of the boy's face. They were glistening with fear and anger, and for what felt like the millionth time, Ty wished that he had the blue green Blackthorn eyes.

Kit looked almost fairy like, he had sharp cheekbones that framed his face well and his blonde curls looked as though they were glistening against the light shining off his eyes. Ty couldn't believe that he didn't realise the first time, just how angelic this teenaged boy was.

'How beautiful', he thought.

Kit was he first one to speak this time around. "What are you doing here?", he hissed, the venom evident in his voice.

Ty, still in a complete daze didn't know what to say.

"I said I didn't want anyone to come near me!"

His voice rung out harshly, bouncing off the corridor walls. His breaths were coming quickly and raggedly, completely giving away how scared he was. Ty took advantage of this, sliding his pinned arm out from underneath the boys knee and flipping him over so he was on top of him, with the knife still pressed against his throat. Kit's eyes were wide with shock.

"You're not going to hurt me", Ty whispered, almost challenging him. Kit was still holding the knife firmly in place.

"You can't show fear when you're fighting a demon.", Ty said nonchalantly. "They'll feed off it and overcome you much quicker."

Kit didn't say anything. He was staring at Ty the same way he had when the knife had been pressed against _his_ throat. His eyes were dark with _longing_ and desire. Ty noticed this, it would have been hard not to. _No one_ had ever looked at him like that. Not ever. It was the look that Ty used to see boys giving Dru when they went to the beach. It was the look that Julian gave Emma when she walked into the room. It was the look that Magnus gave Alec when he saw him holding Max. It wasn't _love,_ but it was one of the things that led to it.

Suddenly _very_ aware that there was a _boy_ under him, Ty rolled over to the side and lay on the ground. They stayed like that for a while, listening to the sound of the thunder and lightning ravaging the sea, and for once, Ty didn't mind. He didn't rush for his headphones or his sketch pad, or bury his face into his jumper. Instead he listened.

Kit turned his face to the side to look at him, but Ty didn't notice. He had his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling, but Kit could see that he was just listening to the noise outside. A sharp pain running up his arm from his wound caused him to hiss out in pain, disturbing Ty's relaxation. Kit watched as the boys pushed himself up onto his knees and turned to look at his injured arm with concern. Quickly Kit tucked his arm away, hiding it from his grey eyes.

Ty sighed. "Let me see it", he said, his voice demanding.

Kit quickly jumped to his feet. "There's nothing to see. I'm fine, and I asked you to leave me alone so please go", he said angrily as he reached to pull the door open. As soon as he reached his arm out he felt Ty grabbing his arm. In a quick movement that barely lasted a second, Kit found himself back in the room he'd chosen with the door closed shut and Ty holding him by his t-shirt.

Ty spoke again. "I'm offering to help you. I can see you're in pain, I can heal you."

Kit pulled his shirt free from the boy's grasp. "No! I know what you want to do. You want to draw one of those runes on me. My father told me that if a rune is put on a mundane they'll go crazy! Or-or die!"

"You're not a mundane", Ty said, a hint of frustration and annoyance in his voice.

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know you fought", Ty said, causing Kit to look up at him. "Emma told me, when she went to save you. A demon was attacking you and you fought back. Mundanes can't do that, they don't have the instinct. They'd be paralysed with fear, but _you_ , you picked up the first thing you saw and used it as a weapon to protect yourself. "

Kit didn't know what to say. Eventually he mustered up the first thing he could think of.

"So? If Emma hadn't of been there I would've died anyway. I hit it with a chair but it got back up. Emma killed it before it could kill me. It doesn't mean anything."

"Well of course you're not going to kill a demon on your very first encounter with one." Ty stated firmly. "We train for hours every single day to prepare ourselves for an encounter with them. What I'm saying is that, you'd probably never even held a sword or been in a life or death situation until that day. And you showed bravery and the ability to fight. That's a lot more than most Shadowhunters can say for their first encounter."

Kit looked down at the ground. Silent. Ty was right. He had just been so stubborn for all his life that it felt so strange accepting the truth. After a few moments of deafening silence, he finally spoke.

"I always knew I was different. Not because I could see the Shadow World around me or because I was Johnny Rook's son. I just sort of knew that I wasn't like the other mundane children. I think all of the people at the market knew too. They used to look at me and whisper, thinking that I didn't notice. I was faster than all the other kids, stronger. Maybe that's part of the reason why my dad pulled me out of school. "You're my biggest secret" he used to tell me. Now I finally understand."

Ty waited for him to finish speaking. He was truly fascinating. His whole life had been a lie, a secret. His own identity had been hidden from him.

When Kit finally settled, Ty reached into his jacket and pulled out his stele and held it out so the boy could see it.

"Runes are part of who we are. There's angel blood running through us. It's what makes us Nephilm. Let me heal you. Your first rune is important. I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be a gathering for it and all. But, you've waited long enough."

Kit didn't reply.

"Seriously. You've waited long enough, look at the floor. You've bled all over the place."

Kit looked down. He was right. There was a pile of blood on the ground beside the door from when he'd taken his hand off his wound. He allowed a smile to spread across his face.

"You're very matter of fact, you know that?", he said.

Ty shrugged. "I'm not that good at talking to people."

Kit shook his head slightly in disagreement. "No", he said softly. "I think you're great at it."

Slowly Kit pulled the sleeve of his shirt up revealing the wound underneath. It was deep. Almost down to the bone. Dark bits of dried blood had collected around it near the ripped flesh. Kit sighed. It had gotten worse. A thin stream of blood was still dripping from it causing a red river to run down the side of his arm.

Ty walked over to him warily, half expecting the boy to run at the sight of the glow of the stele.

"I won't go until you're ready", he said, trying to reassure him. "I'm not gonna lie, it will hurt for a few seconds. Especially since this is your first one."

Kit looked up at his eyes. Blue onto grey. Ty's eyes calmed him. The pure beauty of them was enough to make him forget about the throbbing pain in his arm for a second.

"It's ok. Just do it. I'm ready."

Ty looked up at him one last time, before slowly bringing the stele down onto his skin. Ty was gifted at drawing runes. Each one he drew was precise and very effective. The iratze was one he had drawn so many times now, it was like second nature.

Kit felt the sting of the stele as it burnt the rune into his skin. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. Just as Ty had said, after a few seconds everything seemed to go numb, the painful throbbing died down to a dull ache… and then it stopped.

Kit opened his eyes, which he didn't mean to close, and stared. The rune was striking against his skin, even in the dark. Kit wasn't a stranger to what they looked like, seeing as he'd seen them on Emma and all of the other Shadowhunters. But there was something about seeing one on himself that made him gaze in astonishment. From knowledge, Kit knew that permanent runes turned black, forever burnt into your skin. Temporary runes faded eventually until there was only a scar left, and fresh runes, like this one, burned red and glowed. It looked edgy, fierce. Kit couldn't help but like it.

"It's glowing", Kit said, stating the obvious. "Why?"

Ty smiled, as he put the stele back into his jacket. "That means it's working. It's glowing because you're a Shadowhunter. Does that finally silence your doubt?"

Kit stared at him. "I suppose I can't really deny it now."

Ty's eyes narrowed. "You suppose?"

For what felt like the first time in ages, Kit laughed. A genuine, happy giggle. Not too loud, but not at all fake.

The sound caused a smile to spread across Ty's face.

"Thank you, Tiberius."

Ty's eyes widened at hearing his full name pass the boy's lips. He quickly decided that he liked the way Kit said his full name. He liked the way it made him feel, a strange, new feeling in the pit of his stomach, but not an unwelcome one. He felt himself flushing red.

"I better go. It's getting late and I have training tomorrow", he said, stumbling over his words. He turned and walked over to the door, pausing before he opened it. "My room's on this corridor, if you ever need me." And with that he left, leaving Kit staring after him, his blue eyes glistening.

Ty flung himself onto his bed, reaching for his headphones to block out his surroundings. The storm outside had died down, but now Ty had another thing he needed a distraction for.

 _Kit Rook._ He couldn't. He wouldn't… could he?


	2. Awkwardly Sexual Confrontations

**Hi everyone, I'd like to start off by apologising to those of you who have been waiting for this chapter. I know it's been nearly a month now. Once I finished the first chapter of this story I immediately started writing this one, and then my laptop broke. I know I could have written this chapter on another computer, but I like to keep all my files together. I just got it back there and thankfully I didn't lose any of my documents. I really appreciate all of the reviews that have been left on the first chapter. Thanks so much. I hope all my future chapters are received well. Thanks. Leah**

Kit always got up early on the weekdays, ever since he was a little boy. The reason for that was, if he didn't get up himself then his father wouldn't come in and wake him, and he'd head off to the Shadowmarket without him. The Shadowmarket kept him sane in a strange way. It was calming to talk to people who could see everything as he did. Eventually, the people at the Shadowmarket made him realise that having the sight wasn't a curse, it was a blessing. Whenever his father would leave without him, he'd have no choice but to stay in the house. Out of sight from anything and anyone. To Kit it was a complete waste of a day.

The people at the Shadowmarket taught him everything he knew. From stories of the Clave to legendary Downworlders like Magnus Bane. Another skill he picked up from them was how to talk to the peculiar people that came to the stalls. Kit knew what he could and couldn't say. What would get him in trouble and what wouldn't. The Shadowmarket was a second home to him.

A familiar lump returned to his throat when the horrible realisation set in.

He would never be going to the Shadowmarket with his father ever again.

Kit sighed, it wasn't even six yet but he knew that the Shadowhunters would be up. His father had told him of their _insane_ training schedules. He realised now that that was another way of how his father had made Kit scared of them. They were like trained assassins. He wouldn't have a chance if they tried to take him… look how that turned out.

A male voice coming from outside his door interrupted his thoughts. One not familiar to him yet.

"Tiberius? What are you doing here? Training started ten minutes ago, I told you, you need to get on Diana's good side from now on. I don't want her reporting anything bad about you to the Clave. Missing training isn't really the best way to kick things off."

The person sounded young, not much older than Kit, and yet they had a level of maturity to them. Like they were the adult figure or the person in charge.

"I wanted to be here when he woke up. I'll come down later."

 _Ty?_ Ty was outside his door? _Again?_ Kit had thought that he'd been imagining things when he heard the footsteps creep slowly towards his door the night before, and yet he had been right. When he'd pinned Ty to the ground, _he_ was terrified, but he saw no fear in the other boy's eyes. Those grey eyes gave nothing away.

The voice outside spoke again. "Right fine. But he hasn't come out once yet, so don't get your hopes up. I think he needs time to grieve Ty. But that doesn't mean that you should waste your time sitting outside his door."

Kit didn't hear Ty reply, instead there was a short silence followed by footsteps heading away from the corridor. The person had left Ty there.

Kit sighed. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone today. Not even to the grey eyed angel sitting outside his door. He remembered what the mundanes called this. A crush. It usually passes after a while. It did for him anyway. Kit had encountered loads of other teenagers his age at the Shadowmarket, girls and boys. He didn't really have a preference, if he was attracted to someone, he usually just went for it. But something was holding him back this time, and he was pretty sure it was something to do with the fact that there was angel blood running through the boy's veins.

But one thing was clear. Out of all the countless people that Kit had had a crush on. None of them compared to this. Talking to Ty last night had felt so normal, so relaxing. It was nice, just talking Kit thought. Getting to know the _person_ , instead of getting to know the inside of their mouth. Had he ever actually spoken to any of the girls or boys that he had pulled into the back of the stall? He didn't think so. This was a dramatic change for him. True, he had ended up on top of, and below Ty the night before, but Kit was certain that it hadn't meant anything to the Shadowhunter… at least not like that.

Ty lowered his book and looked at his watch, his brain quickly doing the math. Fourteen hours, eighteen minutes and six seconds. That's how long Kit had gone without eating anything. Since he had arrived at the Institute anyway. What if he hadn't eaten anything before the demons attacked his house? The thought irked him. He literally had no way of knowing how long _exactly_ the boy had gone without food. Ty quickly jumped to his feet. It had been long enough, if he was to stubborn to come out then he would just have to bring him the food himself. Maybe he could use it to coax him out of the room.

Quickly he hatched a plan. Less than ten minutes later he returned to the door with a tray of pancakes and bacon in his hand and set it two feet from the door and went into position, grinning like a fool. This was gonna be fun.

Kit hadn't even realised just how hungry he was until he smelt the familiar scent of pancakes wafting in through his door. His mouth watered hungrily. No way was he not eating that food. He walked slowly over to his door and looked through the keyhole, and sure enough, there they were, pancakes and bacon.

Ty didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Good, Kit thought. He really didn't want to have another awkwardly sexual confrontation with the boy. Once was enough. Quickly Kit stood up straight and unlocked the door. It was strange, he thought. That the door had a keyhole and a sliding lock. 'Talk about wanting to keep someone out', he thought to himself.

He swung open the door, revealing the incredible sight on the other side. Kit didn't know how or when he got there and yet here he was. Ty in all his glory, holding the plate of pancakes and bacon, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Typical, of course food would coax you out, I should have thought of it sooner."

Kit flushed red. In a failed attempt, he tried to reach out and grab the plate but Ty moved it out of his reach.

"The only way your gonna eat is if you come out of that room", Ty said sharply.

"Who says I can't get the plate off you", Kit said challenging him.

Ty looked taken aback by this statement, and then just shrugged. "Come on then."

"I can't wait to see this."


	3. Personal Space

"Shouldn't you be training or something?", Kit snarled at Ty. He'd been trying to come across as somewhat annoyed but he couldn't deny that this entire scenario was very amusing. Ty was still holding the plate firmly in his right hand. Despite all of Kit's attempts, the food was still out of reach.

"You could call this training", Ty shrugged. "I mean, one of us is working up a sweat at least."

Kit glared at him. He was right of course. This little cat and mouse game had gotten him all hot and bothered, and he wasn't sure if it was just from all the running around or if something else was contributing.

Ty moved quickly. His movements sharp and precise, his balance perfect. Every step he took seemed effortless. Kit couldn't help but be impressed. It was something that had been happening more and more lately. This boy just kept on surprising him.

It didn't take long for Kit to tire out. He felt like a dog with a bone being dangled in front of him. No matter how hard he tried to get the bone, it just kept getting yanked away from his grasp. It was a losing game. 'Maybe I shouldn't be going for the bone then', he thought to himself quickly. Surely that's what Ty was expecting him to do? What if he reached for something else?

"Already giving up?", Ty teased. "I was expecting more from the lost Herondale."

"Don't let down your guard yet", Kit muttered silently. Quickly he lunged forward, both hands reaching out. Instinctively, Ty moved his hand holding the plate out of reach, but that wasn't the hand Kit had been going for. His left arm grabbed Ty's and pulled him in close towards him, throwing the dark-haired boy off balance.

Ty's eyed widened with surprise… and then shock. Kit's face was only mere inches from his own. His blue eyes directly in line with his grey ones. His golden curls almost touching the raven hair on Ty's head. He had looked so determined, but now Ty saw something else. Everything around them stopped. It was just them. Nothing else mattered. The feeling in Ty's stomach that he'd experienced the night before returned. The one that was so oddly welcome…

The sound of glass crashing caused the two to jump away from each other. Kit looked down. What once had been a plate of pancakes and bacon was now a mess of smithereens on the ground.

"Great! Well done Ty! Aren't Shadowhunters supposed to have great reflexes or something? God!" The sarcasm was dripping of Kit's words, sending Ty into a rage.

"Hey! Maybe if you hadn't invaded my personal space then I wouldn't have gotten so distracted!" Ty spat.

"Just leave me alone", Kit sighed, turning on his heel to go back into the room. But Ty was in front of him in seconds, blocking his path, his eyes wide with frustration.

"Move", Kit hissed. "Now."

"Make me."

That was it. Kit found himself losing control of everything. His body, his composure. It was clear that this boy was driving him insane. Up until yesterday, he wouldn't have dared to square up to anybody, and yet here he was now. Both of his hands clenched tightly around the boy's shoulders holding him up against the wall.

It was supposed to be intimidating. He knew that much. It was supposed to make Ty want to stay away…

Not do that.


	4. Confusing

Kit froze, his eyes wide with shock, his breath catching in his throat.

"What are you doing?", he breathed. His voice almost at a whisper.

Ty didn't respond, suddenly realising what he'd just done, he moved to the side. Removing his hands from the boy's face. "Sorry", he muttered. The tone of his voice demanding and very forward. As if he wasn't sorry at all. It was something Ty had never been good at. Talking to others. His voice always came across as sharp or mean. He _was_ sorry. Grabbing some one's face wasn't exactly socially acceptable. He had just done it so Kit would know that Ty wasn't scared of him.

He never would be.

Kit still wasn't moving. His eyes were wide still, but didn't look as shocked like before.

Ty spoke, breaking the silence. "Are you just gonna stand there?"

Kit sighed. "No one's ever done that…"

Ty looked confused. "Why would they? It's not exactly something people are okay with."

"I didn't mind it."

Ty stared at him, his eyes scrunched up, puzzled. This boy was going to be the end of him. "You're so confusing", he blurted out.

Kit looked over at the boy. " _I'm_ confusing? Are you kidding me? From the moment, I met you, _you've_ been the one confusing _me_!",

"What have I ever done to confuse you?", Ty shot back. Unlike Kit, his voice wasn't loud or angry.

It bothered Kit. This boy never lost his composure ever. He was always calm. It was so frustrating.

 **Hi everyone, this story was kind of on a bit of a hiatus. The reason for that is simply I'm too busy and I'm not sure what I'm doing with this plot. I love these two characters but I don't have a lot to work with. So I think I might wait until Lord of the Shadows is released before continuing. I got a review asking me to continue so I deciding to post this chapter. Which is really more like a draft. Sorry for the length. I wrote this ages ago and didn't know how to finish it. Leah**


	5. How Did It Come To This?

**…** **I'm back. Hi guys! So, I just finished reading "Lord of Shadows" there and oh my god. Bless Cassandra Clare for giving us so much Kitty in one book! Even though Livvy was kind of third wheeling the whole time. I can't help but feel kind of bad, the entire time I was reading all I wanted was for Livvy to be out of the picture to give the two some alone time and then… well, that happened. Anyway, I'm living up to my word, I promised you all that once I finished LOS I would continue writing this and so… the plot continues! I've decided to put in a time jump as where I finished off wasn't great but don't worry, all the juicy bits are still to come** **?** **. I also wanted to include Cassandra's plot so I'm starting off where "Lord of Shadows" finished and I'm making my storyline from there.**

 **Enjoy!**

Ty sat silently on the roof of the institute, his legs dangling in the free air. Am Anderson's "Farewell Life" was playing softly through his headphones, blocking out the sound of the angry sea crashing against the rocks. Another lump formed in the back of his throat replacing the one that he had just managed to get rid of. His eyes were stinging red, slow tears running down his cheeks. Moving was too much of an effort, he didn't dare stray from his frozen position to wipe the tears from his face. Instead he let them fall, like tiny droplets onto his t-shirt.

Music usually stopped his mind from wandering but right now in this moment, all he could think about was how everything had gotten to this. The events of the past week churned around inside his brain, boiling like some poisonous mixture ready to spill out and destroy everything around him. And yet Ty felt like everything was already destroyed… and it was his fault.

All because of a letter. When Ty had written the letter to Annabel Blackthorn he had just figured that everything would play out the way it was planned in his head. That's how it always worked for Sherlock Holmes anyway. He'd felt sorry for her. How unfair her life had been before it was put to an end by those who she thought had loved her. Surely, she would have wanted to put things right? He wasn't sure what her intention had been, but in the end, he had been wrong. Even with the warning Magnus had given them.

 _"_ _Those who are dead for so long and then brought back are no longer who they were, their brains deteriorate to madness."_

Ty didn't know what had pushed Annabel over the edge. Having to hold the mortal sword? The Dearborn's and the Centurions throwing things at her? Being questioned like a criminal in front of a hateful crowd? He just didn't know. The last thing he had seen was her driving the mortal sword through Robert Lightwood's chest and then shortly after, Emma in all her glory, shattering the sword with Cortana as if it was nothing more than a shard of glass. The impact had shaken the room and Ty was able to look at them for a second before turning back to face the angry mob of Shadowhunters.

And then he felt it.

Pain. Loss. Death. As if someone had ripped his heart from his chest. His vision went black. The room disappeared from around him and he found himself instead standing on the beach in Los Angeles. Livvy standing in front of him grinning. She looked like an angel. Her brown hair loose around her shoulders, her face pink with life. She was reaching out her hands towards him, a gesture she had done many times. But as soon as Ty reached out his own arms to take hers, she was gone.

"Livvy? Livvy!... No… no…. NO!"

In the end, Ty hadn't seen Annabel drive what remained of the mortal sword through Livvy's heart. But it didn't matter, because it felt like it had been him.

The song finished playing, the sudden silence caused Ty to snap out of it. He was still in the same position; the tears had stopped flowing. He wondered how long for. The constant pain in his chest throbbed to the rhythm of his heartbeat as he rose slowly to his feet and pushed the headphones down from ears. He stood with half of his feet on the ledge, his toes dangling in the wind as he let his mind speak.

"Livvy? Are you there?"

Silence.

"I feel like part of me died with you… This must be what it feels like when your parabatai dies… It hurts constantly Liv… And I know that you're the only person who can help me understand… But your gone."

Ty knew it was strange, to be thinking these words in his head but the truth was that he wasn't able to say them out loud. His mouth would choke and he would end up coughing angry, tearless sighs. Livvy was his parabatai. They had been born parabatai. They hadn't needed a ceremony to bind them together because they already were. Ty had felt Livvy being stabbed through the heart as it happened, as if it had happened to him too at the exact same time. Only parabatai could do that.

That's why it had hurt so much.

In the end, it was Magnus who had stopped the chaos in the Council hall. He had burst in through the doors, eyes blazing gold and his hands spurting blue fire. He had flicked his wrist and all of the angry centurions dropped to the ground like flies. Kit recalled Emma saying that for a second, part of her had hoped they were dead, but to no avail. Magnus wasn't stupid. He was well aware of the consequences that came with murder… even if the victims deserved it.

A lot of the people had been shocked to see Magnus in all his glory as only minutes ago he had been unconscious, appearing dead almost. Kit had been left alone in the infirmary with him after Kieran and Diego had fled. He could hear the chaos coming from the hall on the other side of the building. It was deafening. He may be a Shadowhunter but even Kit wasn't stupid enough to charge into a fight without backup.

Years of chatting with warlocks in the Shadowmarket had left Kit with more than enough knowledge on medicines that could be made from the strangest products that were usually on hand. And thankfully, the medicine closet in the infirmary had just what Kit was looking for. Kit liked to think that the concoction he'd given Magnus was like the magic potion equivalent to a mixture of insanely strong coffee and a few red bulls. It would give him a kick start, but how long would it last? Long enough actually. Knocking out the Centurions had given the Blackthorns a chance…

But if only they had been sooner.

The sight in front of Kit was something that could only be described as nightmare fuel. Ty was on the ground unconscious, his face shrivelled up in pain even though his body showed no sign of any injury. He was breathing, that's all that mattered to Kit. Before he could run over to the boy he saw the real damage.

It was like some tragic scene from a movie. There on the stage was Julian, tears streaming down his face. In his arms lay Livvy's limp body, the handle of a sword protruding out of her chest. Blood stained both bodies. For a split-second Kit let himself think that there was a possibility that she was just injured, just passed out. That one of them was going to grab their stele and draw an iratze on her body. But the look on Julian's face destroyed that tiny glimpse of hope.

Only a few feet away was a scene very similar, except this time it was Alec Lightwood cradling his father's lifeless body in his lap. His father… _his father_ ….

Kit had to look away. He needed to see something else, _anything else_.

 _Ty._

Then he remembered. "Ty!", Kit shouted as he sprinted over to his unconscious body. "Ty wake up! Wake up!". He shook the boy's body frantically. What do I do? What do I do? His own thoughts were battling him, he couldn't concentrate.

 _Runes._

It was like an alarm clock went off inside his brain. His stele! Instantly he ripped open the boy's jacket, his stele was in one of the inside pockets. Kit looked up and down Ty's body, there was no wound? Where was he supposed to draw it? As if on cue, Ty's voice went off like a rocket inside his head.

 _"_ _The closer the rune is to the heart, the more effective."_

Kit ripped the boys top away from his chest and then rolled up his own sleeve and looked at the scar of the iratze that Ty had drawn on him not so long ago. The design was intricate. To the eye it looked difficult, and yet something was oddly familiar about it to Kit. Like he had known it forever, it was common sense. Second nature. He took in a shaky breath, _wow._ He hadn't realised how nervous he was.

He looked down at Ty's beautiful face. His grey eyes were clenched shut in pain, his breaths came in ragged intervals. He needed this rune.

"Don't worry Ty, I got this." Kit whispered, and then he brought the stele down to the skin above his heart.

Ty hadn't expected that it would be Kit who was going to pull him out of the darkness. The blackness had enclosed around him in his unconsciousness whilst the pain in his chest caused him to suffocate more and more. It felt like he was drowning, out in an icy lake… alone. The freezing water causing his chest to sting as his lungs gasped out for air and inhaled the ice instead.

A voice was calling out his name in the dark. Repeating "Ty" over and over. He wanted to shout out to it but he couldn't.

 _"_ It will all be over soon" he thought to himself. "The pain can't last forever…"

 _"_ _Don't worry Ty, I got this."_ The voice called out to him again. It sounded familiar. A voice that Ty had grown to like. Longed to hear and yet the pain prevented him from putting a face to the voices owner.

 _"_ _Come on Ty I need you!"_ The voice was getting louder.

 _"_ _I won't let you leave me too Tiberius Blackthorn!"_ A crack of light shone through the darkness, the suffocating ice began to lift, the blackness fading…

 _"_ _I'm here Ty."_

The pain on his chest was replaced with something else, something light… something good…

Ty gasped awake, his torso flying up off the ground and his hands clutching his chest. The suffocating pain was gone, it was no longer dark.

He was back.

Kit moved back once he saw Ty's body flying up from the ground. His eyes were wide with shock and his hands were clasped over his chest, he was inhaling deep breaths frantically, as if he'd been drowning and he'd gotten his first gasp of air. His eyes were a deep silver colour, slightly lighter than the usual grey shade Kit had grown to love.

 _"_ _How beautiful."_ He thought.

Ty was staring at him now, all of his focus was burned into Kit. His mouth moved to form a word. He whispered it so quietly that Kit almost missed it.

 _"_ _Livvy."_

Kit's mouth fell open wide with horror. Oh god. Had he seen her? Ty spoke again.

"Livvy. She's dead. I felt it."

His voice cracked as he spoke and Kit's heart broke with it.

"Ty, I- "

"Make it stop", he whispered. "The pain. It won't go away."

Kit stared at him wide eyed. What could he do? The chaos around them had stopped and yet the few sounds still going on in the room around them were deafening. Dru was crying in Helen's arms. Devastating uncontrollable sobs. Emma was crouching down behind Julian, she had her arms around him from the back and she was leaning her fore head on the back of his neck as if she was trying to support him, he was still calling out to Livvy, trying to get her to stir or show some sign of life. Magnus was still working his magic, it looked like he was trying to form some sort of barrier between them and the unconscious centurions. The sound of the magic was harsh, angry. It reflected how Magnus looked.

 _The noise._

Kit knew what he had to do. Slowly he crawled up to Ty and put his arms around him, enclosing the boy's body in his warmth. His placed his hands on either side of his ears and blocked out everything around them. Making a safe bubble, where it was just him and the person he had grown to care about the most. He didn't know how long he would have to stay like this, but frankly, he didn't care.

Kit lay there with Ty in his arms as the bell chimed the hour, and Ty dug his fingers into Kit's jacket pulling him closer, trusting him to be the anchor that would tether him to the ground, keeping him safe.

For as long as he needed.


	6. I Have Feelings Too

"Ty!", Kit called out. His voice was sharp, demanding… slightly scared.

"Ty, can you please come down from there."

Ty was standing on the ledge of the Institutes roof… barely. To Kit's anxiety, half of his feet were dangling out in the wind, the balls of his ankles holding him down. Kit tried to reassure himself. "Shadowhunters probably have insane balance", he thought.

Ever since they had come back from London Ty had been disappearing. The Nephilm funeral process was just as depressing as the mundane ones so Kit could understand why he didn't want to be around… especially seeing as who the deceased was.

After Magnus had finished clearing up the mess in London he'd decided to come back to Los Angeles with the Blackthorns. Leaving Alec with his sister and her partner. Magnus said their names were Isabelle and Sheldon. Or was it Simon? He hadn't been sure. Kit could see that he felt terrible leaving Alec but he knew that Julian couldn't be left to deal with the aftermath of what had just happened. Arthur was gone and Diana wasn't the head of the Institute. Magnus had been their saviour.

It still made Kit wonder though, why Diana didn't want to be the head of the Institute. It didn't make sense… unless she was trying to hide something. Maybe him and Ty could figure it out together, whatever it was. Their little Sherlock and Watson partnership had been on a bit of a hiatus. Of course, if he wanted to start the partnership again he was going to have to prevent Ty from dying first.

To Kit's horror it looked like he moved his feet even further of the ledge of the roof. He hadn't acknowledged Kits presence yet, in fact he hadn't even flinched.

"Ty for goodness sake, your scaring me."

This caused him to turn his head ever so slightly. "Why are you scared? You're not the one standing on the ledge."

"Yeah well this may come as a surprise but I would be very upset if something were to happen to you."

The words came fast and quick. They were almost emotional, Ty could tell that he was genuinely scared. He took a step back and turned to face him.

"I just want it all to stop", he said. His words were nearly at a whisper. "I can't be me without her." Ty's facial expression was heart breaking. Kit's mouth opened slightly.

How could he respond to that? The person he cared about the most had basically just told him that he couldn't live anymore.

"I watched my Dad die." Kit said after the silence had gone on too long. "You probably knew that already… I watched those _things…_ tear him apart."

Ty was staring at him intently as he spoke. It wasn't something he was usually able to do, looking directly at someone felt so personal to him. Like boundaries were being walked over. But with Kit it was different. The first time he'd looked directly at him was the night he'd attacked him outside of his room. He'd stared directly into those blue eyes and straight away he'd known.

He wanted to look at those blue eyes forever.

Kit continued to speak. "For years I wondered what it would be like to lose someone, but I only really had one person to lose. When I watched him die, all I could think about was how I was going to be alone. With no one. For the rest of my life…"

"And then I remembered you."

Ty's eyes widened.

"You. The boy who held a blade to my throat. I should have been scared, but all I could think about was how your grey eyes had a bit of silver in them. And how your dark hair in contrast to your eyes made you look so- so…"

"Weird", Ty interrupted, looking down at his feet.

"I was going to say beautiful", Kit whispered.

Ty looked up at him, his eyes were glistening. "Keep talking… I want to hear your voice."

Kit blinked. He just had to get him to step down from there…

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, when someone dies, it's painful. Especially when its someone who is a part of you. But there are always others there too…"

Slow tears were streaming down Ty's cheeks now. Falling gently onto the roofs ledge.

"You were there for me. Even though I was rude and I kept pushing you and everyone else away. And your family is there for you too Tiberius. Julian, Mark, Tavvy… they're here to help you through this."

"And so am I."

Ty's tears were falling uncontrollably now. His whole body looked so delicate, like if you touched him he would break into millions of pieces.

"I can't Kit! Every time I see them… Julian, Dru... all I see is her!" He was gasping as he spoke, the words barely getting out through his ragged breathing. "I don't want to see them upset. I- I…"

He jumped down from the ledge and sunk to his knees. "You're the only person I'm able to look at without thinking about her."

Kit felt strange. Ty didn't associate him with Livvy as much as his family, even though for the past few months the three of them had been inseparable. Wherever Ty and Livvy had gone, so did Kit.

Why wouldn't he think of Livvy when he looked at him?

"I don't know why", Ty whispered, freakily reading Kit's mind. "Every time I look at someone, I don't just see them, I see who they are related to, what they are. When I look at Julian, I immediately think of Emma too, simply because they're parabatai. When I see Dru I think of Tavvy because they're nearly always together."

"But you're different."

Kit stared at him, his blue eyes burning into Ty's grey ones. What did he mean?

"When I look at you… other emotions… _feelings,_ cloud everything else."

Kit walked slowly towards him. "What feelings?"

Ty looked up at him, staring directly into his blue eyes. His mouth opened to speak but no words escaped, what could he say? That the death of his sister made him realise that he needed Kit more than he realised? That he liked him in a way that you shouldn't like a friend? That he wanted Kit to stay at the Los Angeles institute with him instead of leaving to train how to be a Shadowhunter? That seeing Kit made the pain in his chest ease? That his eyes-

…There was so many words he wanted to say, but his mouth wasn't forming any of them.

He forced himself slowly to his feet, his eyes still puffy and red from his tears. Kit stood only about two feet away from him. For the first time since they had started to speak Ty really took in his appearance. Kit looked exhausted. His eyes had the dark shadows under them which signified the obvious lack of sleep he was getting. This shouldn't really surprise him though. The past few nights Kit had been sitting outside Ty's door, mimicking his actions from a few weeks ago. He hadn't said anything, he had just been there to show that he was _there._ At the start it hadn't helped, Ty just wanted to be alone. And then slowly… Ty had found _himself_ listening out for the sound of Kit's breathing on the other side of his door. Taking comfort in knowing that the blue-eyed boy cared enough, to be there.

How far they had come.

"Ty, I have feelings too you know."

 **Hello everyone,**

 **It took me quite a while to write this so I apologise. I've been busy with multiple music exams. I'd like to thank all of you who have favourited and followed this story. I love writing but seeing how many of you who are enjoying the story and reading it is amazing so thank you guys so much. I know I've left this chapter off in a bad place, I want to keep you all in suspense** **Stay tuned!**

 **Leah**


	7. What Do Teenagers Do Behind Closed Doors

"… What feelings do you have?", Ty asked timidly. The words were quiet but Kit was standing so close to him it would have been impossible not to have heard them.

Kit shuffled his feet awkwardly on the ground. God! What was this boy doing to him? He'd never had trouble confessing attraction before! Well… he supposed he'd never needed to. He thought of the Shadowmarket. The countless downworlder teenagers who had walked past his stall, eyeing him up, the scent of lust practically wafting off them. He'd never had trouble getting anyone he wanted. He was a Herondale after all. Anyone he had eyed had basically hopped over the stall counter and pounced on him… not that he minded.

Kit didn't know what his sexuality was called, but frankly he didn't care, and he didn't think anyone else should give a rat's ass either. If you like someone it shouldn't matter if they're male, female, gay, straight. The only thing that should matter is how you feel when you're with them. And that was good enough for Kit.

His feelings for Ty were somewhat more complicated than anything else he'd ever felt before though. He saw Ty nearly every day, which wasn't exactly a bad thing… it just made it more complicated.

You see, Ty was growing on him. And no matter how hard Kit tried to suppress his feelings, the grey eyed boy always found a way to capture all of him. He knew that falling for someone was supposed to be a gradual process that took time and didn't happen overnight.

So how come it felt like he was falling headfirst off a cliff and it was only gonna be a matter of seconds before he hit the ground?

 _Oh, Tiberius Blackthorn… what are you doing to me?_

It dawned on him that he had yet to answer Ty's question. "Why don't we go to our corridor?" He said, diverting Ty's attention for a little bit. Ty looked down at the ground, his eyes dark.

 _Oh shit. Have I upset him?_

He hoped not. "I don't like heights." Kit blurted out, hoping that it would come across as some great explanation as to why he had completely blanked Ty's question and changed the subject by asking to go downstairs.

Ty lifted his head to look at him. His eyes were stone cold. "Sure", he muttered after a while. "We can go to your room."

"Ok", Kit replied simply. This conversation wasn't going well, no point in trying to say anything more.

Kit didn't understand why he was feeling so nervous as the two of them made their way down from the roof and through the Institute. Was it the way he'd said it? " _We can go to your room."_ Ty hadn't been in his room since the first night they had properly spoken.

That felt so long ago.

I mean, going to someone's room is kind of a big deal? When teenagers went into each other's rooms it was usually to… um yeah.

Mark used to constantly go into Emma's room every night when they were dating, and Kit knew fully well that they weren't just having little slumber parties and braiding each other's hair.

The images passing through his head right now were very cringe worthy.

Ty walked slowly behind the blue eyed boy. He didn't know if Kit could tell how nervous he was. His heart was hammering in his chest ready to burst. What had he been thinking? _We can go to your room?!_ God, he felt more embarrassed the longer he thought about it.

But it was nice feeling some other emotions for a change. Feeling embarrassed was a million times better than feeling depressed.

Kit was looking a bit sheepish, Ty thought. He was usually hard to read, he nearly always looked angry or his face told you to stay away. But right now, he could see that Kit was just as nervous and feeling as awkward as he was. It made him feel better.

Kit's room was _really_ tidy. Even tidier than Ty's. He didn't think it was possible. He supposed it was down to the fact that there was little to nothing in it other than a bed, an empty shelf, a wardrobe, a desk and a window looking outside onto the gardens below. It was nice, actually. If you took the time to appreciate the simplicity of it. If Kit was content with it then it would be fine.

Ty remembered Jace Herondale, Kit's only other living relative, loved things to be neat and organised. A small smile crept up slightly at the edge of his mouth. It must run in the family.

He was so engrossed in the room around him that he didn't even realise that Kit was staring at him, studying his face, he looked unsure about something. Ty took a breath in and let it out slowly. This was going to be terrifying.

"So… I need to ask you something…"

 **Hi everyone, I think you can guess by the ending of this chapter that something exciting is about to happen! At the moment, I'm still trying to see how Ty is going to deal with recovering from Livvy's death. I'm trying to base it off my own experience (kind of). My own granny died there about two months ago and even though it was very painful at the time, eventually other things occupy your mind and it gets easier as time goes on. Obviously for Ty, it's gonna be far more difficult because Livvy was practically his other half but soon I hope to have him back to his more quirky self. I'm gonna try and work a bit of Sherlock and Watson adventures in here too hopefully. Thanks to all those who have favourited and followed this story! I really appreciate it.**

 **Stay tuned for the good stuff!** **?**


	8. Let It Be Me

**Little side note that might sound strange. Try reading the dialogue with a really intense voice in your head. You know, kind of act it out. It makes the chapter much better. I promise!**

"Sure. You can ask me anything, I want to help."

Ty's face made it clear that he wasn't very happy with this response. He wasn't disappointed, it just wasn't the answer he'd wanted to hear.

"This isn't about Livvy." He said bluntly, causing Kit to be slightly taken aback.

"Ok… Ty I- "

"And I don't need help. I'm fine." His voice was stern.

It made Kit uncomfortable. "Ty, I just found you standing on the edge of the Institutes roof… what if I hadn't found you?"

"What are you saying?"

"Ty, it looked like you were about to- "

"What? Kill myself?", he scoffed. It was a strange action to see him do. He was usually so solid and direct.

"I'm a Shadowhunter. I'm not some selfish mundane who doesn't care about hurting the people around them!"

"People who do that aren't selfish… they're struggling, they have no one to turn to…"

"Well I do have people to turn to!"

"… Then why were you up there?", Kit demanded. "All of your family is downstairs worrying about you and mourning Livvy _together_ , and _you're_ up there, alone!"

Ty's eyes glistened as he turned to look at him. "Sometimes I like to be on my own! That doesn't make me weird or anything!"

"... sometimes it's better to be alone."

Kit's heart sank _. No one_ should be alone.

"Ty, pushing people away is not going to make you feel better _. You_ should know that! That's all you and everyone else said after I was brought here!"

"No! _You_ of all people should know why I want to be alone! You were feeling the exact same way I am now!"

"No Ty, I was feeling anger. You… you just lost the person closest to you, the person who-

"Don't." Ty hissed.

Kit stopped abruptly. The boy's grey eyes were staring threatening silver daggers at him. Challenging him to say another word.

Usually he would have just stayed quiet, but this time he couldn't.

This time Ty was going to listen.

"You know what Ty? No! You are going to shut the hell up for once and listen to what I have to say!"

His words caused Ty to step back, unable to speak another word. It was as though Kit had pierced through the invisible barrier Ty had put up around himself. He looked shocked. Kit had _never_ spoken to him like that before. _Never._ Sure, when they first met they were constantly fighting but their relationship had grown beyond those petty arguments.

Kit took a deep breath. "Your family _needs_ you. Your siblings _need_ you… This isn't a process you should go through alone. I know it may be hard to accept, but they are suffering just as much as you are. "

"Julian is _broken_. He didn't just lose a sister, he lost a child… "

"Mark? He just got his family back, how do you think he feels? He was just getting to know Livvy and she got ripped away from him."

"Emma told me she feels like a failure. She thought she could protect everyone…"

"Dru has to constantly be with Tavvy. She thinks if she takes her eyes off him even for a second, something bad is going to happen."

"And speaking of Tavvy! He doesn't even know that Livvy is gone! Julian told him that she's gone to Idris or some other shit. That she'll be back 'soon'."

He stopped speaking to take a breath.

Ty was staring directly into his eyes. For once, he wasn't crying. This harsh taste of the truth had lighted a spark inside him that he'd thought had died the moment the mortal sword went through Livvy's chest.

His family needed him. They needed him just as much as he needed them.

"I need to go." He whispered.

He turned his back to the blue eyed boy and began to walk away, leaving Kit standing there longing after him.

Once Ty left the room Kit remembered something though…

Quickly he ran out after him. He was only a few steps away but Kit still called to him.

"Tiberius!"

Hearing his full name pass the boys lips turned him around. "What?"

Kit looked nervous. "You never asked me the question."

Ty looked puzzled. "What question?"

"You said you needed to ask me something… what was it?"

Ty face flushed red in realisation. He couldn't ask him now…

"It was nothing, forget about it." He turned to walk away again but this time Kit reached out and grabbed his arm.

The contact stilled Ty. The skin where Kit's fingers clutched him was burning, it was similar to the feeling of getting a rune. Uncomfortable at first, and then the angelic power seeps into your veins like an addicting drug. Hooking you in an instant.

He turned around slowly. The look on Kit's face was enough to know what he was asking.

 _Tell me._

He exhaled. "Why did you kiss Livvy?" he asked, his voice almost at a whisper.

The words drained all the colour from Kit's cheeks. "You saw?"

Ty's mouth settled into a straight line. "Well I kind of had a front row seat."

Kit looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Wow. How stupid he'd been to think for even a second that Ty hadn't seen them, when he'd been right there.

"Did you like her?... like, more than a friend?"

"Ty, why are you asking me this?"

"Don't you think I have the right to know?" He sounded hurt. Betrayed almost.

"No. I didn't like her like that." Ty's harsh expression lightened.

"Then… why? Why did you do it?"

"Because she asked me to." Kit responded. "She wanted to know what it was like to kiss someone."

Ty wasn't looking at him anymore. That question had been burning inside his brain for days now, and he wasn't sure if he was relieved with the answer he'd gotten.

"Was she your first kiss?" he asked quietly.

Kit's face flushed red. "No… she wasn't."

"Do you remember your first kiss?"

Kit took the few seconds to think about it. "Actually no. I can't really remember any of the people who I've kissed in the past… they're all trivial. They don't matter. The only thing that matters is who I want to kiss now."

Ty's eyes glistened silver through the darkness of the hallway. It had gotten darker. It was harder to see the boy standing in front of him.

"Who do you want to kiss now…"

Kit hesitated. "…I think you know."

 _Please god let it be me… let it be me._

"How do you know when someone is going to kiss you?", Ty's voice was surprisingly steady, considering the situation he was in.

"You just know." Kit said, walking slowly towards him. "If you don't know then it's not about to happen." Kit was nearly in front of him now. Only just a few feet out of reach…

"So, I'll always know?", Ty asked, he'd started to help close the space between them, taking small steps.

"Always."

And then no more steps were taken, because they'd closed the space between them with their lips. Both giving into the desire that had been tearing at their minds since the moment they'd first laid eyes on each other.

Their mouths fit together perfectly, as if they'd been designed as two parts of a whole. Kit couldn't believe what he was feeling right now. He was _finally_ kissing him.

He'd kissed so many people before, but none had felt like this. _This_. Was what kissing was supposed to feel like. He'd read about it before. It was described as this electric feeling that he hadn't truly understood until this moment because he'd never felt it before with anyone else. Until him.

Ty hadn't thought that his first kiss was going to happen when he was still this young. He hadn't even thought that he was going to allow anyone to touch him until he fully understood "everything". And yet here he was with Kit's hands on his waist clutching bits of his t-shirt and his own hands tugging at the other boy's golden hair. This feeling was going to live with him forever. And he didn't know it yet… but this was a kiss that Kit wasn't going to forget anytime soon.

 **Quick confession. I wrote that last part while watching the newest Captain America movie. You could say I was inspired by the serious sexual tension going on between Steve and Bucky hehe. I really hope I did their first kiss justice.**

 **Leah x**


	9. A Shadowhunter's Life

Mark wandered aimlessly through the many corridors of the Los Angeles Institute. Letting his feet take him wherever they so pleased. It was six in the morning, but the entire building was silent.

Everything had fallen out of balance since the "incident". Usually everyone would be up, ready to train and go to class, to show Diana that she didn't have to worry about any of them falling behind in their studies. Mark had been catching up quite well actually.

Until everything went to shit.

It seemed that the only person who had any intention to continue on with everyday life was Emma. She was the one to pull everyone out of bed in the mornings and make breakfast for all of the sorrowful Blackthorn children staring blankly at her. It appeared she didn't plan on doing that today though.

Emma had so much strength. She had taken the impact of Livvy's death just as hard as anyone else, but she hadn't let it affect her training or her work. Mark knew better than anyone that she was hellbent on making Zara Dearborn and her father pay. She knew very well who had caused the chaos that day. Countless fire messages were being sent to the Clave both from Emma and Diana trying to explain what had _actually_ happened, and each one was received with a cold reply. The Nephilm were all in mourning too. Robert Lightwood hadn't been the Inquisitor for very long, but he'd done the job well. They were too busy to be caring about who caused whatever fight. They just wanted Annabel dead.

Everything had been going so well…

Mark wished that he didn't care so much. In faerie, death was a peaceful thing. People weren't mourned, they were celebrated. Their achievements were noted and everyone drank to their endeavours in their next life.

The Nephilm didn't look upon death in such a happy light. Losing Shadowhunters wasn't just a painful process for the family of the deceased. It was a punch in the face to the Clave too. Mark remembered being told of the countless Shadowhunters who lost their lives in the Dark War and how the Clave were desperate for the remaining Nephilm to bear offspring.

But he had already accepted the truth. They were a dying species. And there was nothing he or anyone else could do to change that.

Mark stopped walking. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't even realised where his feet had taken him to. He was in Ty's corridor. The endless piles of books stacked against the walls gave it away.

Had he meant to come here? He wasn't sure.

Ty was always somewhere poking at the thoughts in the back of his mind. More so than his other siblings. Ever since he had come back from faerie, his and Ty's relationship had blossomed into something much better than before. They understood each other well. Losing Livvy had further ignited the part inside of him that was devoted to Ty's wellbeing. Maybe that's why he'd ended up here.

Slowly Mark walked over to his brother's door. He knew how much the younger boy liked his privacy, would he even want to see him? Would he wake him by opening his door?

It ended up that he didn't have to be conflicted for long, once Mark looked down he realised that the door was already open.

Strange.

Ty never left his door open. _Ever_. If it had been anyone else Mark would have just let it slide, but curiosity got the better of him. He put his hand on the doorframe and peered inside.

He didn't know what he had expected to be honest. Maybe Ty sitting on his bed reading or book? Ty fast asleep?

Basically, anything but this.

Ty was in his bed… and so was Kit.

Both of them were sleeping, above the covers, their legs entwined, bare feet touching off each other. Ty had his hands fisted in Kit's t-shirt pulling his chest closer to him. The blue-eyed boy had one arm over Ty, the other was tucked under his head.

The whole scene was so peaceful. It looked like a painting. The only movement was the soft rise and fall of the boy's chests breathing. Mark was baffled.

Were they? Did they?

No. They were too young to know love surely?

But this didn't look like they were just friends. Mark knew better than anyone. Because the scene in front of him was one that was all too familiar.

 _Kieran._

He quickly looked away and pulled the door closed, careful to not wake the sleeping pair. A small smile started to form at the corners of his lips.

Maybe this shouldn't be so surprising, he thought. After all, he was sixteen when he met the faerie boy. Ty was soon to be sixteen himself.

It was strange to think that the little boy who he used to know was now grown up. Fighting demons on his own. Experiencing romance for the first time.

Shadowhunters flew through life's milestones far too fast.

 _Grow up. Train. Kill demons. Get married. Have children. Die._

All of the things in between are what really shape a Shadowhunters life. Getting your first seraph blade. Getting your first rune. Having your first crush. Killing your first demon. Spending time with your family. Portalling to unusual places.

Being home again made Mark realise how much he had missed out on when he was apart from his family. Even just getting to see his siblings grow up.

Had his and Kieran's love been worth it?

He wasn't so sure anymore.

 **Author's Note**

 **I don't ship Kieran and Mark for those of you wondering. I wanted to write this chapter to give an insight into how Mark was feeling. Seeing Kit and Ty together is going to be a big reminder of Kieran for him. Although Mark has a deep love for the Wild Hunt. I feel personally that it took a way a big part of his life. You may feel differently. Your opinion is just as valid as mine. I love Marks and Ty's relationship in the books and I think it suitable that Mark is the first to know about Kitty.**

 **In case you thought. No. Kit and Ty did not sleep together. Little bit early for that yet. Maybe in a few years!**

 **This story has been read by over 4000 people so thank you so much! I promise the wait won't be as long for the next chapter.**

 **Leah xx**


	10. It's Ok Not To Be Ok

When Ty finally woke, Kit was gone.

He rolled over onto his side, the events of the night before played through his head like a tape on replay.

 _Had all of that actually happened?_

He forced himself to stand and wait for the effect of tiredness to hit him like it did every day. The lack of sleep was really catching up on him now.

But it didn't. Instead he felt awake, alive. Ready to train.

The truth was, Ty hadn't really slept since Livvy. It had been impossible. The most he'd gotten was two or three broken hours of sleep per night. Last night had been the first night he'd slept for eight hours in weeks.

And it was such a good feeling, being awake. _God_ how he'd missed this!

Quickly he pulled on his training gear, fiddling with the laces on his combat boots. He couldn't wait to touch the cool metal on his throwing knives, and feel the satisfying sensation of hitting his target. It was like a drug. One that he'd been deprived of too long.

The adrenaline running through his veins sped up his heartbeat with excitement as he made his way to the training room, running through the Institute halls. He knew that everyone was already in there as he could hear the sounds of metal clashing on metal coming from the room.

He paused as he reached the door, stopping abruptly in his tracks. He was ready.

He pushed open the door.

The sight in front of him wasn't really what he'd expected. From listening outside the door, you'd think that the Shadowhunters were training vigorously.

When Shadowhunters fight, they fight with passion. You can see it in their eyes. They have a thirst for battle and you can feel their angelic power emanating off them with every weapon they swing. It's beautiful to look at really. Ty remembered being only a few years old. Watching his older sister Helen and his brother Mark training. How their eyes twinkled as they looked at their weapons. How much they loved it.

Every Shadowhunter wants it. They _want_ to train. Not because their making their parents proud or because they're expected to. But because when they're fighting. They understand their purpose.

It's an incredible feeling.

So how come it looked like they were all half asleep?

Julian was standing in front of Emma, wielding his seraph blade, she had cortana in her hand. But he didn't even look like he was paying attention. His thoughts were somewhere else.

Ty could tell from Emma's stance alone that she was exhausted. Her eyes had no twinkle in them. She was holding cortana similar to the way you would hold a shopping bag. When you hold a sword, it becomes an extension of your arm. It shouldn't weigh you down. The only explanation was that she was too exhausted to hold the weight of her sword.

This wasn't good.

In the far right corner of the massive room, Mark and Cristina were sparring… well Christina was sparring and Mark was barely managing to block off and defend her jabs.

Christina looked more frustrated than upset… and Mark just looked broken. Like he didn't even care. Christina could've driven the sword straight through him and he would've probably just looked down nonchalantly. Usually, the half faerie boy was more charismatic when he was around Christina. His face would light up in a way that could only be described as loving and caring. Ty noticed it straight away, once the two of them met. Mark had a soft spot for her, she hadn't known him before he'd been taken to the Hunt. He didn't have to pretend to be who he had once been around her. She was like a ray of sunshine on a miserable day for him.

Ty guessed even being around Christina wasn't helping Mark's mood today though.

Dru and Tavvy were sitting around one of the long tables at the left of the room, the three of them hunched over a book. But just like the ones training, they had no interest in what they were doing, they didn't care what was written in the pages.

One thing was clear to Ty. After looking at everyone in the training room it was evident.

They were all still in mourning.

You see, there was something Kit had gotten wrong when he'd gone to speak to Ty on the roof the night before. The rest of the Blackthorns had tried to continue on with their duties in the Institute, training, studying and researching about Annabel after Livvy had been killed. With Emma and Christina pushing them every day.

They had been so caught up in distracting themselves that they hadn't even taken the time to think about Livvy's death.

Kit had told Ty that instead of mourning Livvy on his own, he should have been with his family, so they could have all helped each other in the process. But he'd been wrong.

Ty had _needed_ that time he'd spent alone on the roof, thinking about his twin. Letting himself be upset. Bottling up your emotions is really just setting them aside so they can be felt at another time. And that's what his family had done, and now they weren't even able to function like the amazing Shadowhunters that they were. It was all wrong.

Julian was the first to notice that Ty had come into the room, he stared at his younger brother wide eyed, and Emma in turn, looked over her shoulder to see what her parabatai was gazing at. The tired and sad expression on his face lightened at seeing his brother.

Diana had noticed Ty too, with the quick nudge of her head Dru turned to look at what she was signalling to.

And then like a domino effect, in a matter of seconds, everyone had their eyes on Ty. All astonished, their eyes and mouths wide with surprise.

Ty let the moment drag out, it was rather peaceful actually. Everyone had stopped moving and the entire room was silent. It was nice to know that he'd changed everyone's expressions to something better. He took in a deep breath to speak… but someone beat him to it.

"Ty!"

Tavvy's high pitched voice rung out through the entire room, and Ty watched with delight as his younger brother jumped off of his chair and started to run towards him, with a huge smile spread across his face. He quickly knelt down and embraced his brother's arms with his own.

Standing up, he leaned back so he could see the little boys adorable grin. Tavvy was giggling with delight. "I missed you!", he exclaimed.

The corners of Ty's mouth turned up slightly. "I missed you too Tavvy."

The others had walked over to the pair and were now surrounding them. Julian was the first to step forward to speak. Ty put Tavvy down and turned to face him.

"Ty." He began. "Are you ok?"

He took his time to think about it. Was he?

"…No." He answered honestly. "But neither are you."

Julian let a sigh escape his mouth. Emma placed a hand on his shoulder. A subtle sign of support. "I guess none of us are ok really."

Ty's eyes glistened. "It's ok not to be ok."

Julian smiled. "You're smarter than me Ty."

"And me." Diana inputted after a while, causing laughter to erupt around the group.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you guys needed me." Ty said quietly. "I just needed some time."

"We know", Emma smiled. "We understood why you were on your own." She reassured him.

"Thanks."

"I guess we're the ones who need to take some time now." Julian sighed.

"I'll be here when you do", Ty answered. And with that he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his brother. Hugging him for the first time in ages.

Julian quickly gave into the hug, putting one arm on Ty's shoulder and resting the other on his head. Slowly the others joined in. Emma hugged Julian from behind, placing her forehead on his back. Dru and Tavvy came in beside Ty, and Diana and Mark used their height along with Julian to enclose the younger ones in this safe space.

It was the best they had all felt since that day.

But Ty felt that something was missing…

"Where's Kit?", he asked. Not breaking the hug.

He was answered immediately. "I'm here." They opened their eyes to look.

Kit was standing in the doorway, he had one hand in his blonde curls and his other one was resting on the door frame. He felt awkward, as if he'd interrupted a really private moment.

"Don't worry, I'm just leaving. Don't want to ruin this family moment."

Before he could turn to walk away, Julian spoke.

"Hey Herondale!"

Kit looked puzzled. "Yeah?"

"Get your butt over here. Your family too."

He extended his arm out to the boy. Kit's eyes glistened.

 _They really did care about him._

He didn't think twice before walking over and joining the family embrace. He couldn't see, but Ty's grey eyes were shining brightly for him.

After his father had been killed, Kit hadn't thought that he would ever have a family again. Until Ty and Livvy… and now the rest.

Maybe he wouldn't be alone after all.


End file.
